At NCAA football’s Alamo Bowl, Oregon was heading for a blow out as it led the game 31 to 0 at the half. Their opponent, nationally-ranked TCU, was a capable team. The team was most likely shaken up by the loss of their starting quarterback and key wide receiver.

It’s easy to fall into defeat mode when behind by that many points.

TCU didn’t give up.

During halftime, TCU head coach Gary Patterson changed his shirt. And changed the Horned Frogs’ attitude along with it. They scored early in the second half and went on to win in triple overtime.

Triple overtime!

They never, ever quit.

This comeback tied for the largest in NCAA college football bowl game history.

Did changing from a black to a purple shirt magically improve a team’s attitude? Whatever they did during halftime paid off. The team returned to the field with a different attitude. And that attitude changed the game.

Owning a business isn’t much different.

The attitude difference

Beating the competition requires skill and attitude. First, you need skill to be able to play the game. People who don’t have the skill for a sport can’t win even with the right attitude. However, it’s possible not to be as skilled as the opposing team and win the game.

Attitude can help the underdog gain the edge. Many thought Super Bowl 50 was going to be a snoozer. The heavily favored Carolina Panthers had a superior offense and strong defense. Denver Broncos had a quarterback past his prime who didn’t run much.

In fact, the age gap between the two quarterbacks was the widest ever at 13 years and 48 days.

The Broncos maximized their top notch defense to crush the Panthers’ offense. Carolina never led and a defensive player won MVP of the game.

You can love the business. But every job — dream jobs included — has rough days. The Panthers certainly had a bad day at the office at Super Bowl 50.

Running a business takes more than having enough cash, the right people, and high quality service. It also requires attitude.

Don’t let wild stock market and the possibility of a recession become your reality. Many businesses continue to thrive. They thrived during past recessions. You don’t hear about them on the news because there’s no drama. The news rarely reports happy stories unless there’s an angle they can exploit.

Two businesses — two outcomes

Consider two competitors in the same industry and city. They’re a prime example that you can have everything in common and have a different outcome.

The owner of one business feels down and complains constantly about the economy, the climbing prices, and on and on. The other owner accepts whatever cards dealt to him and does the best he can to play them well.

There’s no question who is more successful.

Adopt the gloom and doom approach, and you can count on your competitors showing you up.

You’re responsible for your attitude. It’s contagious. Get mad at people, they’ll quickly adopt a bad attitude. Smile at people and they smile back.

7 things you can do for a can do attitude

How can you stay enthusiastic when you work long days, deal with cash flow problems, chase down payments, and struggle to make payroll?

Next time you have a challenging day and need to change your shirt at halftime, use these seven tips to stay at the top of your game or stage your comeback.

1. Remember why you’re in the business

A person who starts a business because it’s a sure thing isn’t going to last long. Without passion, the work will quickly become a chore. No matter how much you love the business, your passion will barely flicker at times. Spark it by remembering why you got into the business.

2. Follow up

Many businesses lose out on opportunities because they don’t follow up in a timely manner. Following up is the most important marketing tactic.

3. Adapt as needed

Unexpected things happen. The market changes. Staying flexible and adapting to change on the spot will give you a leg up on your competition.

4. Accept setbacks as a learning experience.

If you don’t fail, how do you find better ways of doing things? There’s no do over. Learn from it and move forward. Dwelling on mistakes accomplishes one thing: wastes time you could spend doing something about it.

5. Take care of yourself

Make time for your family and hobbies. It’s good for the business and everyone around you. “If mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy” also applies to a company’s bosses.

6. Cut back on news consumption

Struggling to shake off the constant influx of bad news? Remember attitude is infectious. The news reports bad things … you’ll feel bad, too.

This doesn’t mean you have to quit watching or reading the news. Moderation’s good. Do something enjoyable after you catch the news so you can shake off whatever virus you caught from the depressing news reports.

7. Give value to customers

When you serve customers and provide them with value, they’re more likely to stick with you and refer you to others. which can grow your business. Keeping customers is simpler and cheaper than finding new ones.

Just like the weather these days, the market will keep right on going up and down. You can’t control the weather or stock market, but you can control how you respond to it. The same goes for business or being way behind in a game. Apply these tips and you’ll stay motivated to help you surge ahead of your competitors.

Attitude is contagious. What do you want your team’s attitude to be?

Image credit: Danny Molyneux